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Installation of a studio shed to our home to create a comfortable space to do some craft.
Materials
- Stilla Peppertree Studio Kit (9x6ft)
- Additional side window kid from Stilla
- Floor Base kit
- Door Deadlock (Didn't want a shed handle)
- Double sided door pull
- 3mm Plywood sheets for ceiling interior
- 42mm Timber to secure plywood sheets inset
- Dulux Weathershield Monument
- British Paints White Fence paint (for interior)
- Ultradeck Timber Stain Light Oak for exterior highlight features
- Silicone
- Floating Floor
Tools
- Power Driver
- Drill
- Circular Saw
- Hand saw
- Brad Nail gun
Steps
Step 1
I followed the Tilla instructions as close as possible. They were very easy to follow! And absolutely everything needed was included, with plenty spares left over.
Install the floor base kit. In my case, I also secured it to the concrete floor using angle brackets and Anka Screws to ensure it didn't move over time (These take no load, just prevent horizontal movement). I used the included footings to level the kit against my concrete floor, and in the highest corner, there was no footing used. The footings take all the vertical load.
One thing I would say, was that I got the whole thing 99.5% square. I then attempted to install the yellow tongue flooring using Stilla's measurements of the distance off the end of the wooden supports, but for the life of me I could not get it to their dimensions all the way around. So I ended up ensuring it had the correct measurement on the two visible ends (the faces along the deck and along the path). It seemed to work out for me.
Step 2
Next, I installed the walls and then secured them to the base and each other. I didn't realise at the time, but the Tilla instructions didn't mention securing them to the base, but I thought this was odd and did it anyway. However, much later in the instructions did it then say to do this. Perhaps there was a good reason why, but it didn't seem to hamper me in any way.
Just another pro tip here. I thought the outer panels would be in line with the base because Stilla had those measurements off the end of the base for the wall panels to sit on. This is incorrect, and they stick out from the base. I only found this out after securing the base to the concrete and installing the 2 rear facing sides first before realising the deck facing side did not fit!! Luckily, I was able to remove the deck end panels that cover the side of the deck, and it then fit with mm to spare. This was only possible because I already made a 10mm space between the deck and the wooden supports *just in case, and lucky I did that! But it should've been about a 30mm gap to fit this correctly.
Step 3
Next I installed the roof, and then painted the exterior. In the photos you can see the ladder against the door and some masking tape against the windows. This was when I was done for the day and the reason is I opted to skip Stilla's steps to install the windows and door at this point as I wanted to paint the exterior and interior walls, and it would make it MUCH easier not to paint with these installed, As I wanted to keep them would So these were just temporarily holding them in place in case of rain.
Just worth noting, I did this whole install myself, except the roof. I asked a neighbour for help with the roof. It is just too heavy and oddly shaped to do it yourself. Even if I did get it up on my own, it was a tight fit, and without a second person it would've been near impossible to secure it properly from the inside without someone on the outside helping me.
You'll see when I painted it, I did not put any wooden trim on at all. That allowed me to paint without bothering with taping off 99% of it. It made it so much easier! And even then taping off is never perfect. I did put the roof-end facade on though, and in hindsight, I should've waited until after I painted. Heck, painting without the roof at all would've been even easier. BUT, I was worried about overnight rain in Melbourne winter.
It's also worth noting I did not bother to paint the fence facing sides of the shed. No one will notice, and the Stilla manual says it is perfectly safe to leave it uncoated due to being Cedar. It will grey over time, and that's ok. But it saved me effort for a non-visible part of the shed.
Step 4
I then installed all the wooden trim bits and gave them a coat of the Timber stain. This was the product recommended by Stilla, and it looks great! I didn't tape anything off again, as I used a much more precise brush (the sample pot brushes from Bunnings are awesome!).
In this last photo you can see the lock and pull handle I used. I wanted to use just a normal door handle, but there's around a 10-15mm gap between the door and the side, so a normal handle just would not grip well enough, whereas a deadlock as a nice deep bolt. The Stilla does come with a black lockable handle, but it's the garage door / shed type and I thought it just didn't look that nice.
Step 5
Lastly, on the inside, I've installed a floating floor and also covered the roof with plywood, as before it was just the foil insulation which didn't look so good. I then painted the plywood with the white fence paint. A mistake I did make was the gap filler I used. It is paintable, but for whatever reason, it doesn't work well with the fence paint, and a blue hue from the underlying wood keeps poking through no matter what I do.
In this installation of the floating floor, I initially planned to use scotia trim to cover the ends, but when I did a little test, it looked silly as there was a lip, due to it not being able to be flush against the walls due to the inset panels. So I instead bought a flexible gap filler, and filler rods. I installed the filler rods along the gap I made, and then used the gap filler on top. I also taped off the edges this time to ensure I didn't make a mess. It has come out looking great.
Also, for the ply panels, I wanted to maintain the looks of the shed's sides, so rather than just covering the support beams, I installed 42mm wooden bits on the interior of the beams and then secured the plywood to those. I used brad nails to secure it all, so using light 3mm ply was perfect.
I've also installed a wall aircon as can be seen. I used a dremel to cut a portion of the perspex out of the window, along the wooden outer features, so if I ever remove the aircon, you can glue the perspex back in plate and it won't be noticeable from outside. I've also since installed some flaps over the window to prevent rain getting in where the aircon is.
Step 6
Lastly, my next and final step before using the space is to get the electrician to come and install power. Being a portable studio I may want to move one day if we move the house, I have asked the electrician to put a caravan inlet onto the studio, and a 15A outlet on the wall by the house. And it'll just be connected by extension cord. And he'll wire up some lighting and GPU's to the inlet. Probably no need for cicruit braker as it will be wired into the house, never on it's own independent power like a Caravan.
